Love Me, I Dare You
by AStitchedUpHeart
Summary: What do a Muggleborn Gryffindor and a Pureblood Slytherin have in common? Their loves of dares of course. Oh, and also the shared interest in each other. That helps too.


_**Written for the Title Swap II Competition and the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Competition: Deflagration Deluxe**_

**Love Me, I Dare You**

Year 1

'Colin! Colin!' Dennis Creevey crashed into his older brother. 'Where's the Charms classroom? I don't want to be late!'

'Dennis, seriously, it's a quarter past eight. Classes don't start 'til nine. Let me finish my breakfast!'

'But Colin...' he whined. 'Can't you just tell me the way?'

'Fine,' replied Colin. 'Go up the main staircase 'til you reach the fifth floor, it's on the corridor with the portrait of the drunk Monks. Now, can I finish my porridge?'

'Of course! Thank you Colin!' he shouted over his shoulder as he ran out of the Great Hall.

'Don't worry,' Colin said to his companions, Ginny and Vicky, as he rolled his eyes. 'He's always like that.'

The door opened to the Charms classroom and Dennis looked down at the little Professor.

'Wow! You're even smaller when up close.'

'I am aware Mr Creevey. I don't want to have to hand out a detention to you on the first day, so I advise you to take your seat,' Professor Flitwick responded, as he stepped aside to let the rest of the class in.

'Sorry Sir,' he called as he skipped to a seat in the very first row.

'Miss Harper,' said Professor Flitwick as the door opened again some time later. 'What time do you call this? Now take a seat next to Mr Creevey please.' The girl nodded solemnly and walked to the front of the classroom. She paused before she slid into her seat next to Dennis.

'Hi, I'm Dennis. What's your name?' he asked her as he extended his hand, like he'd been taught.

'Olivia,' she replied, without taking his hand, 'What's your blood status?'

'Muggleborn. But does it really matter?'

'Of course it matters, especially to a Slytherin,' she retorted as she shifted slightly away from Dennis.

'Don't move away. I just want to be friends, please.'

'Not a chance, Mudblood.'

'What's a mudblood?' he questioned, 'Ooh, ooh, I know... I, Dennis Creevey, dare you, Olivia Harper, to be my friend.'

She turned her back on him and seemed to be a bit too interested in what the Professor had to say from then on. As soon as the bell rang, she jumped out of her seat and was the first out of the door leaving a very bewildered Dennis behind.

~o~

Year 2

An early Saturday morning found the two Creevey brothers walking into the Great Hall.

'Colin?' questioned Dennis, 'can I join that defence group? I hate Umbridge.'

'No Dennis, I said before: we're meeting in Hogsmeade and you're not allowed to go there,' replied Colin with genuine sympathy in his voice. They both sat at the Gryffindor table and Colin began piling bacon on both his and his brothers plates. A silence ensued as they both ate, Dennis somewhat downcast at the rejection his brother had sent his way.

'Colin pleas-'

'No, Dennis. It's against the rules, and I won't let you break them. I'm sorry.'

He left the Hall leaving a miserable Dennis behind.

'Hi Dennis,' said Olivia as she swung her leg over the bench that Dennis was sitting on. 'I couldn't help but overhear your problem.'

The two had become tentative friends over the previous year, it couldn't be helped what with Dennis' insistence and the fact that Olivia hadn't made many friends in her own house.

'Hmm... tell me about it.'

'Why do you want to go to Hogsmeade anyway?'

'It's a secret, but I can't go anyway; it's against the rules.'

'Sod the rules Dennis!' she shouted, and then lowered her voice. 'You're such a goody two shoes. Break the rules for once - I dare you.'

He smiled at her, an idea already forming in his head...

'Mr Filch! Mr Filch! Someone's put mud all over the floor! How terrible!' Olivia shouted as she waved her arms to try and attract the attention of the caretaker. His head shot up.

'Right you lot, stay here. Nobody move. I'll be back,' he said as he shuffled over to the sound of Olivia's voice. When he was a significant distance away Dennis shot out of his hiding place and tried to blend in with the mass of people heading in the direction of the village.

~o~

Year 3

Wednesday morning was Dennis' favourite time of the week; it was his Care of Magical Creatures lesson. It wasn't even his best lesson - he only enjoyed it because it was one of only a few lessons that Olivia did well in. He couldn't help but smile whenever her hand shot up to answer a question, nearly always correctly.

He made his way down to Hagrid's cabin with a few minutes to spare, and she was already there, questioning the giant man about the coming lesson.

'I got a righ' treat for ya, tha's all I can say fer now Olivia. Righ', ever'one 'ere. I was jus' sayin' to Olivia 'ere, I got a treat for ya. Flobberworms!'

'What are flobberworms?' called a voice from the back of the group.

'These... are flobberworms,' he said as he waved his hand towards a group of crates. 'Aren' they precious?'

The class wandered over to the crates and Dennis wasn't alone in recoiling at the sight in front of him: flobberwoms, it seemed, were giant maggots. How anybody could call them precious was beyond Dennis, even Olivia didn't seem too pleased with the creatures.

'Now, yer task for the day is to draw 'em. Name all the parts usin' yer textbooks.'

A lot of grumbles followed the announcement of their assignment, the realisation of having to touch these creatures was being cemented into their mind. It didn't help that one of the flobberworms had just secreted a large amount of sticky looking green mucus.

Half an hour later, Olivia and Dennis were busy sketching the underside of the animal. Dennis had come up with an ingenious method of not having to touch them: he had stunned it and was using Wingardium Leviosa to see the underneath. As much as Olivia loved this class, even she was unwilling to touch the slimy animal.

'There,' said Dennis proudly. 'My drawing is complete. I'm bored now, this has to be the worst lesson ever!'

Olivia finished her sketch and pulled her quill away with a flourish.

'Too right, we need to do something. Me and my brother have this game we play, if either of us have something we don't want to do we set each other a dare to do it. We're both so stubborn so won't not complete it. It's fun. We should play sometimes.'

'How about now?' replied Dennis. 'We're both bored out of our minds.'

'Ok, you start.'

'Olivia, I dare you... to explode a flobberworm in the direction of the other Slytherins!'

'I can't do that! It'll hurt the flobberworm,' she said indignantly.

'Explosions generally do that.' Dennis smirked at her. 'You said that if you have something you don't want to do, I should dare you. Clearly you don't want to explode a flobberworm, so this is perfect for you.'

'Fine! Sorry, little fellow,' she whispered to the flobberworm.

'Expulso!' the flobberworm flew across the clearing. 'Bombarde' It exploded. The mucus that was inside the animal splattered over the faces of the Third-Year Slytherins, who promptly began to scream. Dennis and Olivia tried to hide their laughter but they couldn't help themselves as Malcolm Baddock slipped and fell into a puddle of mucus.

'Righ'! Who did this?' shouted Hagrid over the protests of the Slytherins, he looked around, focussing on the partially impassive faces of Dennis and Olivia.

'Sorry Sir,' said Dennis through stifled giggles. 'I prodded the flobberworm to turn it over and I must have done accidental magic. It won't happen again.'

'Too righ' it won' Creevey. Now clean this up!'

Dennis looked at Olivia and shrugged: it was worth the punishment to see Graham Pritchard's face covered in slime.

Year 4

'Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!'

The battle raged around Dennis. People fell in all directions; whether they were allies or enemies he'd never know. When his and Colin's D.A coins heated up calling for help at the castle, the two brothers had been unanimous in their decision to return; they both had friends who would be fighting.

Nothing had influenced their decision: both their magic was weaker considering they had been out of practise for nearly a year. Colin had only learned the theory of Apparation and they weren't sure who exactly they were going to be up against.

He ran through the castle, in desperate need to find Colin. They hadn't planned on becoming separated, the collapse of a wall had caused them to run in different directions though.

As he ran he saw a glimpse of chestnut brown that could only mean one thing - Olivia was fighting. For which side though, he didn't know. Contact between the two had been minimal over the previous year.

'Olivia!' he shouted. She turned, and a smile lit up her face before it was replaced with a look of terror.

'Behind you!'

The pain came quicker than Dennis could have ever imagined. Every single nerve cell was alight, sending flames through his body. He screamed, louder than he though was even possible. He didn't care, he just wanted the torture to be over.

Suddenly the pain stopped, he was pulled up by the back of his shirt and then thrown back onto the floor and spat at.

'Wha's a filthy mudblood like you doin' ere?'

Dennis looked up at the person who had thrown him. A squat woman leered back at him. 'Well? Are ya goin' ta answer me? Or do ya need more persuasion?' She raised her wand and Dennis prepared himself for another onslaught of pain. 'Cruc-'

'Professor Carrow!' shouted Olivia as she ran towards the pair.

'Ah Miss 'Arper. How abou' you practice your Crucio on this little mudblood 'ere.'

Olivia balked. 'I... I can't'

'Yeah... Olivia, go on... I dare you,' taunted Dennis with a wry smile, his breathing still laboured from his earlier bout of torture.

Her eyes dropped and Dennis saw a single tear fall from her face. 'No,' she breathed.

'Wha' was tha' darlin'?' mocked Professor Carrow.

'I said no. Stupefy!' Olivia turned her wand on her Professor and let out a sigh of relief as Alecto's eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. She ran towards Dennis and enveloped him in a hug, not caring that a battle was still raging around them.

Year 5

Dennis had fought vehemently against going back to Hogwarts. Much had changed since the last time he had studied there: the war was over, there was no dark presence looming over the castle. Even more had changed for him though: his brother had died. For the first time in his life Dennis was alone, he had no one to talk to, to confess his secrets to. That factor alone caused Dennis to not care about the fact that the wizarding world was in repair. He no longer cared that Harry Potter was considered an all out hero and he definitely didn't care about any of his studies. It was too much of a reminder to him, that Colin wouldn't be there anymore to help him if he got confused.

Wherever he was in the castle took him back to a memory of Colin: that was where he had been ignored by Harry Potter, that was the place that Colin had taken his first picture and that was where Ron Weasley had thrown up slugs that Colin had photographed.

Olivia had been his rock, they had just sat by the Great Lake many times. Not a word was spoken between the two but the closeness had helped Dennis cope.

'Dennis... I'm not saying you should get over losing your brother, but you really need to move on. It's just depressing you, being stuck in the past.'

'Do you not think I'm trying Olivia. Everything about this place reminds me off him, and there's nothing I can do to stop the memories,' replied Dennis with a hardness in his voice that hadn't been there six months previously.

'Hmm... Dennis I dare yo-'

'No, Olivia. I don't want to play the game, leave me alone!'

'I'm just trying to help you! This game is for something you don't want to do. You don't want to stop mourning Colin, so I dare you to do just that. He wouldn't want you to mope about for the rest of your life. Find a hobby or something, do anything to keep your mind off him.'

Dennis nodded, and grasped Olivia's hand as tears slid down his face.

Year 6

'Welcome to Muggle Art, I'm so pleased you have all decided to partake in this extra-curricular activity. There is something beautiful and entrancing about art that is stationary; you can really appreciate the colours and textures when the picture is not moving. Picasso, Monet, Michelangelo: these are all fine examples of artists. They are wizards also, but with a paintbrush not a wand. We can all take inspiration from them, and that is our first assignment: find a style of art that you like and draw a portrait. We shall reconvene in a weeks time to discuss your progress.'

'Olivia!' Dennis shouted as he caught up with her down the corridor. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Yeah, of course. What is it?'

'Well, the thing is for my Muggle Art project we have to do a portrait and I was wondering whether... I could do one of... you.' He twisted his hands together, and blushed; he had never felt more awkward that what he did right now

'Oh... um... I'm not really comfortable with that. Why me?'

'You're beautiful Olivia,' he said with earnest. 'Honestly.'

'I don't know... Is it going to be displayed?'

'Perhaps. Why are you so unsure? If I looked like you I'd be clamouring for my picture to be on the wall.'

'Ok then... if you specifically want _me_ to, I'll do it. I must really like you or something.'

'Or something.' he said with a wink.

'Thanks again for doing this Olivia.'

'You owe me one.'

'You're welcome, too.' He grabbed her hand as they walked down the corridor. 'Don't be so nervous. Although, there may be something I haven't told you yet...'

'Yes...' replied Olivia with a raise of her eyebrows.

'The style of painting that I like is a technique where lots of similar colours are swirled together. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's bugging me. Anyway, to do this I need to paint a large patch of similar colour-'

'What is it Dennis?'

'That similar colour being...' He swallowed. 'Your skin.

'What! Why didn't you say before?' shouted Olivia as she rounded on the young adult in front of her.

'B...Because I thought you'd say no-'

'Too right, I'd say no. What were you thinking?'

'I wouldn't see anything, honestly. It'd be you looking over your shoulder at me, I'd be painting your back and-'

'No Dennis, I can't do that. Do you really see me as someone who has the self confidence and the body to do that?'

'I see a girl who needs to learn to love herself, and who needs to see someone as beautiful as what I do. You can do this, in fact, I dare you. Are you going to back down from this dare? I know you don't like doing that,' he teased.

'Fine. But if you look when I'm undressing, I'll hex your eyes shut forever.' She left the threat hanging in the air.

'Ok, you can look,' called Olivia. Dennis opened his eyes to see the girl with her hands clamped over her breasts looking around extremely nervously. 'So you want me to face my back to you and pull up my hair so that my back is exposed?'

Dennis nodded, not trusting himself to speak in front of the semi-naked girl.

'Honestly Dennis, the things I do for you,' she said as she got into position. She held her hair away from her back and looked at Dennis through the window created by the crook of her elbow. 'Is this ok?'

'Wow,' Dennis breathed. 'I mean... um... that's perfect.'

Year 7

It was the last day of Dennis' schooldays and he was slowly packing everything he had ever owned at Hogwarts into his trunk. He was placing his portrait of Olivia in carefully when the subject of the painting herself walked in his dormitory.

'Er, not trying to sound rude. But what are you doing here? One, this is a boys room and two, how did you get into Gryffindor Tower?'

'Hi to you too. Girls are allowed into boys rooms as the founders deemed them more trustworthy than boys. Don't tell me you've never had a female in here before?'

No, no I haven't. You should know that; if I haven't had my best friend in here then no one's been here.'

'Fair enough. Anyway I just wanted a reminisce session about Hogwarts before we left.'

'Ah, all the good times,' he said somewhat sarcastically. 'Can you believe it's nearly been seven years since you called me a mudblood?''

'I never did apologise for that did I? Sorry.'

'To be honest, when I did find out what you meant we were good friends so I couldn't not like you!'

'That's funny! I loved our dare games, I never would have done most of that stuff unless you dared me-'

'Speaking of dares. I have one more for you before we finish school for good. Close your eyes.' She obeyed.

'Dennis, what are you doin-' He kissed her. It was messy and a little sloppy but he didn't care; it wasn't like he'd had a lot of practice before. After a shocked moment she began to respond to him, she placed one hand in his hair and another caressed his face. Eventually he pulled away with a massive grin on his face.

'Love me Olivia, I dare you.'


End file.
